Written by Dr. Rutuja and edited by Mariel Bumanglag and Abigail Romero
Most of us have heard of globalisation, the interconnection of countries and their resources. However, as South Asians, we often wonder whether the term globalisation is actually appropriate. If it is, then why is the global culture mostly white and non-inclusive of BIPOC? South Asians make up a quarter of the entire world population, yet they are generally unheard and unrepresented. There's no denying the fact that South Asians are a vital part of society and as such they require representation!
There is a considerable grudge and aversion against Hollywood as well due to inadequate representation of South Asians. In 2018, a movie named 'Crazy Rich Asians' was applauded for an all-Asian cast, which consisted predominantly of East Asians. However, the tables have turned as South Asians are now ruling and rocking over several platforms and the representation has skyrocketed so far.
Shoutout to Netflix, which has marketed and telecasted innumerable brown shows. Kudos to Mindy Kaling, the co-creator of the latest 'Never Have I Ever' for featuring a brown main character, Devi, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnam, an actress whom many young brown girls can relate to. Not to forget the Netflix series 'Indian Matchmaking' which not only highlights South Asian representation but also cherishes South Asian beauty. Recently, various South Asian comedians and actors such as Mindy Kaling, Riz Ahmed, Kumail Nanjiani and Hasan Minhaj have risen to fame and became household names. Several other Netflix shows with South Asian representation are:
'Queer Eye' featuring Tan France as himself
'The Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj' with Hasan Minhaj as himself
'Ghoul',' Sacred Games' ,' Lust Stories' presenting Radhika Apte as Nida Rahim, Anjali Mathur, and Kalindi
'She-Ra : Princess of Power' starring Reshma Shetty as Queen Angella
Other famous South Asian personalities such as Vir Das and Kal Penn will also be premiering in upcoming Netflix series.
Not only has Netflix been taking South Asian representation to another level, but also other networks. The following shows from NBC show fantastic South Asian representation:
'I Feel Bad' featuring Sarayu Blue as Emet. The ‘I Feel Bad’ actress herself comments on the industry and her feelings toward her role in the show. This article is very eye-opening about her experiences in industry and her positive experience with this show: https://www.glamour.com/story/i-feel-bad-sarayu-blue
'Manifest' starring Parveen Kaur as scientist Saanvi
'New Amsterdam' with Anupam Kher as Dr. Vijar Kapoor
'A.P. Bio' show-casing Aparna Brielle as Sarika Sarkar
'The Good Place' starring Jameela Jamil as Tahani Al-Jamil
'The Enemy Within' exhibiting Raza Jaffrey as Daniel Zain
Along with NBC, shows from CBS have also augmented South Asian representation such as -
'God Friended Me' presenting Suraj Sharma as Rakesh Singh. Suraj Sharma is also an actor in the wildly popular Life of Pi film
'Blue Bloods' with Pallavi Sastry as Cameron (a recurring character that only appears in season 6-8)
'The Red Line' featuring Vinny Chhiber as Liam
Other shows from the CW channel have also added lustre to South Asian representation.
'I-Zombie' presenting Rahul Kohli as Ravi Chakrabarti
'Vampire Diaries' starring Karen David as Emma Tig
'Roswell, New Mexico' featuring Karan Oberoi as Noah Bracken
Many more shows have great representation, but these are some of the best of the best! All of them have defied multiple stereotypes, paving the way for brown kids in the Western world to have a place in mainstream media and put South Asian representation on a pedestal.
Sources
Cover Photo sourced from "Inside the stunning homes of Queer Eye’s Fab Five" by Homes to Love
1. Ahlgrim, Callie. "'Queer Eye' star Tan France defends Taylor Swift as a 'powerful ally' for the LGBTQ community after some accused her of being opportunistic". Insider. Retrieved September 3, 2020
2. "'Be that change': Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on starring in Mindy Kaling's new comedy". CBC. August 30, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
3. Houghton, Rianne (June 17, 2020). "Indian Matchmaking creator says show was rejected 10 years ago for not being white enough". Digital Spy.
4. Jena, Smrutisnat (18 March 2019). "Hasan Minhaj Boldly Takes On Modi, The 2019 Elections, Lynchings & Drives It Home With Humour". ScoopWhoop. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
5. Joshi, Tara. "'Beyond Bend It Like Beckham': why Never Have I Ever is a win for Asian representation on screen". The Guardian. Retrieved May 13, 2020
6. Kalita, S. Mitra. "6 ways 'Never Have I Ever' busts Asian stereotypes". CNN. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
7. "Mindy Kaling's Netflix show "Never Have I Ever" a hit with critics, viewers". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
Комментарии